Cornwall at the qualifiers

Isca Petanque Club in Exeter was the venue for the 2012 south-west qualifying round of the annual search for the men's and women's triples teams who will represent the English Petanque Association (EPA) at international level during the coming year. Eleven men's and four women's teams competed, making the trip to Exeter from the EPA's Chiltern, Kent, Southern Counties, Sussex, Great Western, Devon and Cornwall regions.

The event, on Sunday 29 April, was played despite horrendous weather: gale-force winds and torrential rain continued all day, keeping temperatures well down and producing very challenging playing conditions. Accurate shooting in particular was difficult for everyone because of the cold and the impossible task of drying the boules!

Three Cornwall teams took part. The women's triple - Kate Herrick, Rosemary Piggin and Susan Williamson - made a good start, beating a strong Kent team 13-10, with a 13-9 win over a Great Western triple in the second round. They then lost 7-13 to an experienced Southern Counties team.

The men's triple A - Robert Herrick, Graeme Kirkham and Dave Piggin - won three of their four games during the day. They lost the first 7-13 to a strong Kent team but then beat triples from Great Western (13-12) and Southern Counties (13-6). In the knock out rounds they had a bye, which meant a long wait after lunch, but then came back from 10-0 down against a Southern Counties triple to win 13-11. They were among the four men's teams qualifying from the event.

Cornwall's men's triple B was Andrew Jarvis, Roy Pemberton and Paul Rundle. They started the day in a league of 3 teams which meant a bye in the first round, always difficult when what you want is to get on with your game! In the second round they lost narrowly 12-13 to a strong triple of Sussex and Southern Counties players and then in the first knockout round beat the Devon triple 13-2. In the last game of the day they went down 1-13 to a very experienced Kent team.

This is the second year that the EPA qualifiers have come to Exeter, making it easier for petanque players in the south west to participate in the national selection process. The event is now a key date on the annual petanque calendar in the region. Many thanks to Isca PC for hosting the competition and to John Thatcher for umpiring and to he and Rose Thatcher for organising and running the day.